ABSTRACT
In psychological research on adolescence it is important to consider how a changing society affects the social conditions and opportunities for development during adolescent years. In a sociological perspective the individual and the life course are culturally constructed (Meyer, 1988). Life course research has concentrated mainly on cohort analyses, how changes in social structure affect the life course of different cohorts (Elder, 1991; Sørensen et al., 1986). The life course in modern society has been described as “consisting of institutionalized sequences of events, positions and roles which shape the individual’s progression in time and space” (Buchmann, 1989, p. 43). Each stage of life is accompanied by the cultural definition of needs, competencies, tasks and behaviors thought to be appropriate for individuals belonging to a given age group. Such officially recognized attributes constitute the basic element of the individual’s social identity. It is therefore important to understand the social context of identity formation in adolescence and how social change affect personal development. “The impact of changing historical epoch to adolescent identity formation process is an important and virtually untouched area of systematic research needing further investigation” (Kroger, 1993, p. 375).
